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High commodity prices to impact Chemplast Sanmar\'s marginsHigher commodity prices would impact Chemplast Sanmar\'s margins, said its MD PS Jayaraman. Further, he said, PVC was in short supply in India whereas the demand remained robust, adding the interest cost on funds for commissioning of several projects was high.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 25 Sep 2009 | 9:08 am Hope to maintain 20% credit growth this fiscal: BoBBank of Baroda is maintaining its guidance of 20% credit growth for fiscal year 2010, its Chairman and Managing Director MD Mallya, has told CNBCTV18.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 25 Sep 2009 | 7:52 am Forbes India speaks to TCS\' Ramadorai on his work and lifeTCS\' Ramadorai spills the beans on his work and life in an exclusive interview with Forbes India.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 25 Sep 2009 | 6:16 am Expect govt funding of Rs 500cr in FY10: Bk of MaharashtraAllen CA Pereira, CMD of Bank of Maharashtra said that he expected government funding of Rs 500600 crore in FY10 and that he was looking at a credit growth of 2022%.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 25 Sep 2009 | 5:39 am Dahej proj to add Rs 100cr to rev in FY10: Meghmani OrgMeghmani Organics CMD said the Dahej project will add Rs 100 crore to the revenues of the company in FY10. Agro chemicals distribution expansion will boost the PAT, he added and sees agro chemicals revenues at Rs 130 crore in FY11.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 25 Sep 2009 | 5:35 am European arm to break even soon: Motherson SumiVivek Chaand Sehgal, Chairman of Motherson Sumi Group said he expected the companys European operations, SMR to break even very soon. SMR recently bagged a big order worth Rs 3400 crore from big European car makers.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 25 Sep 2009 | 5:17 am Strides Arcolab launches anti H1N1 drug Starflu in retailStrides Arcolab today said that it has launched its anti H1N1 drug Starflu in retail. Starflu is the generic version of drug Oseltamivir and is available in 75 mg capsules in a strip of 10s, the MRP for which is Rs 460 per strip.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 25 Sep 2009 | 4:59 am BSE Sensex provisionally ends down 0.6 pctBANGALORE (Reuters) - The BSE Sensex hares provisionally closed 0.64 percent lower on Friday, weighed down by lender ICICI Bank and as cautious investors cut positions ahead of a truncated week, analysts said.Source: Reuters: Money News | 25 Sep 2009 | 4:15 am Goldman raises oil demand outlook, maintains priceLONDON (Reuters) - Wall Street bank Goldman Sachs said on Friday global oil consumption was recovering more quickly than its previous estimates and raised its demand forecast, while maintaining its price outlook.Source: Reuters: Money News | 25 Sep 2009 | 4:10 am HSBC CEO moves to Hong Kong, focus shifts ‘home’London / Hong Kong: HSBC Holdings is moving its chief executive to Hong Kong as Europe’s biggest bank increasingly focuses on Asia. HSBC said on Friday it will stay based in London for tax purposes and had no plans to move, and Britain’s Financial Services Authority will remain its lead regulator. But CEO Michael Geoghegan will move to Hong Kong from February, swinging HSBC’s power base back to its place of birth 144 years ago. “It’s about building this business in Asia. We know the business is coming our way and we intend to be here to take it,” Geoghegan told reporters on a conference call. “West is coming east and we want to be at the gate into China and be in China itself, and the most logical place to work on that strategy is Hong Kong,” he added. HSBC wants to be one of the first overseas companies to list its shares in Shanghai, and chairman Stephen Green said it remains in talks with the authorities there to do so. He declined to say when it is likely to happen. The bank will look to raise between $3 billion and $7 billion as part of a Shanghai listing, probably next year, people familiar with the matter have told Reuters. HSBC announced several other changes in its management structure. Geoghegan will also become chairman of The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corp. from February, replacing Vincent Cheung. Sandy Flockhart will become chairman of personal and commercial banking, and Stuart Gulliver, head of the investment banking business, will become chairman of Europe and the Middle East. HSBC was formed as the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation in Hong Kong in 1865 and opened a branch in Shanghai in April the same year. It moved to London in 1993 as a condition of the previous year’s takeover of Midland Bank, in a move seen as a major blow to Hong Kong. But the bank is revered in Hong Kong — it is known as “big elephant” — and makes a quarter of its normalised profits and has 30 percent of its shareholders there. By 0915 GMT HSBC’s London listed shares were up 0.9% at 710 pence, valuing the bank at just over $200 billion. Source: World Business - Livemint.com | 25 Sep 2009 | 4:10 am Indian firms head abroad in search of cheap fundingMumbai: Indian companies are returning to the overseas debt markets as record low interest rates, improved risk appetite and rebounding investor confidence enable them to raise money more cheaply than at home. Indian Railway Finance Corp (IRFC) this month agreed to raise a $450 million loan from a consortium of banks at a spread of 300 basis points above six-month US dollar Libor, the tightest since the collapse of Lehman Brothers last year. State-run lender Rural Electrification Corp (REC) is negotiating with USinsurer Aflac Inc for a $200 million yen-denominated loan as part of the company’s $500 million overseas borrowing plan. Private sector lender Axis Bank, meanwhile, is looking to raise $300 million through a bond offer that would be the first overseas issue in a year from an Indian commercial bank. Other firms, including State Bank of India, are said by market insiders to be considering raising debt abroad. “Global appetite for Indian debt has improved, credit spreads have come in and deals are happening now,” said Ajay Mahajan, managing director for financial markets and institutional banking at UBS in India. He noted that Indian companies posted solid results in the most recent quarter, while the index of industrial production (IIP) averaged a robust 7.4% during July and August. “It suggests the Indian economy has turned the corner and that should bode well for companies looking for debt capital as well as equity,” Mahajan said. The interbank cost of borrowing dollars, euros and sterling based on three-month Libor (London Interbank Offered Rate) is touching new lows as central banks and governments flood global financial markets with liquidity. “There is a huge amount of risk appetite for India-specific papers,” said Axis Bank’s President of Treasury Bapi Munshi. He said investors have scaled down their demand to a spread of below 300 basis points over Libor, from 325 bps in June when the bank started negotiating with investors. “When it is around 250 or near 200, we will test the market. Appetite has improved compared to June and we expect spreads to narrow,” Munshi said. Global bargain-hunting The cost of borrowing overseas is coming down significantly. The five-year Reuters benchmark dollar-rupee currency swap, used by borrowers to price foreign debt-raising, trades at around 5.7%, 70 bps lower than the 6.4% in late June. By comparison, a top-rated Indian company would pay about 8.5% to raise funds through rupee bonds. Bankers say that after adding the hedging cost of buying a dollar-rupee forward contract, borrowing overseas costs about the same as it does locally, but is expected to become cheaper in the coming weeks. Current rules allow each Indian company to raise up to $500 million during a financial year through foreign borrowings. A withholding tax of 20% is applicable on interest earned by investors in foreign borrowings of local companies. Fund-raising plans of Indian firms, like other borrowers globally, suffered in the aftermath of Lehman’s collapse, and the global credit crisis that followed triggered a spike in spreads linked to benchmarks like Libor and US Treasuries. Indian companies did not sell any bonds overseas during the three quarters through June, according to Thomson Reuters data. Issuance resumed this month, with Export-Import Bank of India’s (Exim Bank) $150 million five-year issue the first. Offshore loans are slowly returning after Indian companies raised just $2.8 billion this year through June. By comparison, they raised $15.4 billion in 2008 and $28.9 billion in 2007. Most of the overseas borrowing in 2008/09 was completed before Lehman collapsed, strangling global credit markets. While sentiment in the credit markets has improved from a year ago, analysts say that only top-rated firms can take advantage of falling rates. “Conditions for debt issuance have improved from the severe credit freeze in the fall of 2008. However, they remain unfavorable to companies at the lowest rungs of the ratings ladder,” Standard & Poor’s said in a recent note. Risk appetite for emerging market issuers is returning. For example, ICICI Bank’s liquid five-year credit default swaps (CDS), which touched a record high of about 1,700 bps in October 2008, have narrowed to around 290 bps. This means an investor would need to pay $300,000 annually to insure against a default of $10 million on underlying debt issued by India’s largest private sector lender. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 25 Sep 2009 | 4:06 am G20 takes helm of world economy, to revamp bank rulesPITTSBURGH (Reuters) - The Group of 20 will take on the role of caretakers of the global economy, giving rising powers such as China more clout, and roll out tougher rules on bank capital by the end of 2012, a draft communique said on Friday.Source: Reuters: Money News | 25 Sep 2009 | 4:03 am Power ministry disapproves RIL’s marketing margin on gasNew Delhi: The power ministry on Friday said it did not approve of Reliance Industries charging marketing margin on gas it sold saying such levies are paid where distribution chain is involved and not when it’s a “one-man show.” “Normally, marketing margins are (paid) where there is a whole-seller, a distributor (and) a retailer. But in this case of gas company (RIL), there is no whole-seller or retailer. It is a one man show, one company is doing that,” power secretary H. S. Brahma told reporters here. RIL is charging $0.135 per million British thermal unit marketing margin on sale of gas from its eastern offshore KG-D6 fields, a levy which was opposed by state-run NTPC. Anil Ambani Group firm Reliance Infrastructure, which buys 0.56 mmscmd of KG-D6 gas, paid marketing margin on gas till last month but discontinued it this month saying they were “illegal and unauthorised”, prompting RIL to slap a notice of discontinuing supplies. NTPC this week signed pacts to buy 0.61 million standard cubic meters per day of gas from KG-D6 fields at $4.20 per million British thermal unit price plus $0.135 per mmBtu marketing margin. It has, however, sought specific confirmation on payment of the levy from the government. RIL says the marketing margin it charges is uniform for all the 40-odd customers and is lower than $0.17 per mmBtu margin charged by state-run GAIL. NTPC in a letter to the power ministry said it had sought legal opinion on oil ministry’s advice that marketing margin was purely a commercial issue between the seller and the buyer. The legal opinion stated that “this issue is a commercial issue and NTPC would need to look at it accordingly... NTPC should take up the issue of marketing margin separately through the ministry of power with the appropriate authority in the government.” RIL had initially proposed a levy of $0.15 per mmBtu marketing margin but later agreed to lower it after talks with the fertiliser ministry. Urea manufacturing plants, which had been given top priority in receiving gas from RIL’s KG-D6 fields, were the first to sign GSPAs with provision of $0.135 per mmBtu marketing margin. The lower marketing margin was agreed in talks between RIL and the fertiliser ministry and all the 12 urea plants are paying the levy without any protest. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 25 Sep 2009 | 4:03 am Excise tax collection up 22 percent in AugustIndia's excise tax collection in August rose 22.7 percent from the previous month, while customs duty collection improved meagrely from minus 30 percent in July to minus 28 percent last month, a senior government official said here Friday.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 25 Sep 2009 | 4:01 am Solar power for 27 Jammu and Kashmir villagesSolar energy-powered electrical lighting systems came online Friday in about 3,900 households in 27 remote villages of Gurez tehsil in Jammu and Kashmir, as part of the government's Remote Village Electrification (RVE) Programme.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 25 Sep 2009 | 4:01 am Government gearing up for GST by 2010 New Delhi: The Centre is gearing up for the implementation of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) as the 1 April, 2010 deadline draws closer and is holding regular meetings with the states to make them agree to the proposed tax regime that will do away with most central and state indirect taxes. Though some states are still apprehensive that GST will do away with their fiscal autonomy, considerable progress has been made in negotiations to allay their concerns. “We are almost having meetings on a daily basis. To bring all states together and make them agree to GST was a difficult task. Some states had apprehensions. The process has made considerable progress,” Central Board of Excise and Customs chairman V. Sridhar said. He said that many states are protective about their autonomy so far as taxes levied by them is concerned. After the empowered group of state finance ministers met on GST last week, Madhya Pradesh finance minister had expressed apprehension that the new tax system would take away the states’ rights to tinker with rates. The GST will subsume the central indirect tax levies like excise and service tax and a host of state taxes like VAT, octroi and purchase tax. The structure would be a dual structure—one at the centre and the other at the states level. States have already agreed to have two rates of taxes, with one standard rate and the other lower rate for essential goods. The rates, however, have yet not been finalised. The government has set a deadline of 1 April, 2010, to introduce GST. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 25 Sep 2009 | 4:00 am Unilever offers $1.8 bn for Sara Lee personal care opsThe Hague: Anglo-Dutch food and cosmetics giant Unilever said on Friday it had made a binding offer of €1.28 billion ($1.83 billion) for the personal care operations of US giant Sara Lee Corp. “Personal Care is a strategic category and a key growth driver for Unilever,” chief executive Paul Polman said. “This transaction builds on our portfolio in Western Europe and also in Asia. The Sara Lee brands enjoy strong consumer recognition, offer significant growth potential and are an excellent fit with Unilever’s existing business.” The Sara Lee business posted sales of more than €750 million in the 12 months to June 2009, with earnings before interest, depreciation and amortisation of €128 million, according to a Unilever statement. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 25 Sep 2009 | 3:57 am Companies pay more excise in Aug vs JulyNEW DELHI (Reuters) - Indian firms paid 22.7 percent more factory gate duties on month in August, indicating a revival of industrial growth, and the government hopes to meet the annual indirect tax target, an official said on Friday.Source: Reuters: Money News | 25 Sep 2009 | 3:55 am India Inc heads abroad in search of cheap fundingMUMBAI (Reuters) - Indian companies are returning to the overseas debt markets as record low interest rates, improved risk appetite and rebounding investor confidence enable them to raise money more cheaply than at home.Source: Reuters: Money News | 25 Sep 2009 | 3:54 am Sensex trading flat in afternoon trade - Times of India
Source: Business - Google News | 25 Sep 2009 | 3:53 am No hike in interest rates on cards: SBI chief New Delhi: State Bank of India (SBI) chairman O.P. Bhatt on Friday said that no increase in interest rates is expected in the near future, allaying apprehensions on the return of the tight money policy. “Hike is extremely unlikely,” Bhatt said when asked whether the rates of borrowing could be revised upward in the next few months. He said that SBI was lending at the lowest rates and any more cut was not on the cards. In the recent past, the country’s largest bank has been aggressive in cutting the lending rates, especially for those buying homes and cars. It is extending both these loans at 8 per cent interest per annum. Earlier this week, finance minister Pranab Mukherjee said in Kolkata that he was against a tight money policy. “I am not prescribing a tight money policy”, he said, pointing out that the fiscal and monetary policies adopted by the government and the RBI to combat the slowdown are paying dividends and the signs of recovery have started to show up. RBI, which has considerably eased the monetary policy to provide liquidity to the crisis-hit industry, is slated to announce second quarterly review of the monetary policy on 27 October. With rising food inflation, there is an apprehension whether the RBI could return to the high interest regime which was followed by the central bank mostly in 2008. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 25 Sep 2009 | 3:52 am Thinksoft reduces IPO price band on lukewarm QIB response - Moneycontrol.com
Source: Business - Google News | 25 Sep 2009 | 3:41 am GE extends Mah Satyam\'s multimillion dollar order by 3 yrsGE has extended its multimillion dollar contract with the company. Now the contract has been extended by three years from January 2010. It will cater to application development and engineering services.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 25 Sep 2009 | 3:35 am NTPC seeks confirmation on marketing margin from RIL - Business Standard
Source: Business - Google News | 25 Sep 2009 | 3:34 am Unilever pays 1.3 bln euros for Sara Lee brandsLONDON (Reuters) - Consumer goods giant Unilever Plc/NV on Friday agreed to pay 1.275 billion euros ($1.87 billion) for the personal care business of Sara Lee bringing it brands such as Sanex and Radox.Source: Reuters: Money News | 25 Sep 2009 | 3:32 am ING sells part of Australian, New Zealand ops for $1.6 bnThe Hague: Dutch banking and insurance group ING said on Friday it was selling part of its Australian and New Zealand operations to joint venture partner ANZ Bank for €1.1 billion ($1.62 billion). ING said the sale was part of its ‘back to basics´ programme to simplify the group’s structure. Under the terms of the agreement, ING said it would sell its 51% equity stakes in ING Australia and ING New Zealand, offering insurance and wealth management services, to ANZ, which becomes their sole owner. “This transaction is another important step in executing our back to basics strategy,” ING Group chief executive Jan Hommen said in a statement. “The sale of our insurance and wealth management operations in Australia and New Zealand is further proof of our determination to simplify the organisation by focusing on fewer, strong franchises that form a coherent group. This shows once more that our continued transformation is well on track.” The deal should generate an estimated net profit for ING of €300 million, it said. ING and ANZ merged their insurance and wealth management operations in Australia and New Zealand in 2002 and the business now employs a combined 2,700 Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 25 Sep 2009 | 3:32 am Global demand subdued, SAIL to freeze pricesThe state-owned Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL) is unlikely to hike prices of its products because of softening demand in international markets.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 25 Sep 2009 | 3:31 am Natco expecting Rs600 cr turnover by fiscal endMumbai: Hyderabad-based pharma company, Natco, which launched a drug similar to Tamiflu, is expecting a turnover of Rs 600 crore by this fiscal end, a top company official said. “We are expecting a turnover of Rs600 crore by March 2010. Last year it was Rs400 crore,” Natco Pharma Limited’s product manager Ambarish Jambhorkar told PTI here after the company came out with drug ‘Natflu´, available Pan-India to treat Swine Flu, yesterday. The company is ready with 12.5 lakh capsules to meet the requirements of the Swine Flu situation in the country, he said, adding, “we expect to release 10 million capsules of Natflu by end of October if required.” The drug will be initially sold through the company’s own 18 carry and forward agents who will supply ‘Natflu´ to all those stockists and chemists who have have a Schedule X license. Currently, the pharma company has tied-up with retail pharmacy chain Medplus, who have applied for the license to sell the drug. Medplus has 630 outlets across country and currently Natflu will be available at 25 Medplus stores in Hyderabad. “We are already in talks with several pharma retail outelts to supply Natflu. We expect some deals to close in five to six days,” Jambhorkar said. Talking about the market share of the newly launched drug, Jambhorkar said, “we expect bigger and good market share from Natflu but it is not possible to put some number to it as more players may come up.” The company also said its manufacturing plant in Chennai would come up by mid next year. “The construction work of our plant in Chennai has started and we expect it to complete by mid next year. The plant will help in developing medicines with new technology,” Jambhorkar said. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 25 Sep 2009 | 3:22 am Toyota eyes China with new affordable ‘family car’ Tokyo: Toyota Motor Corp. is counting on growth in China, and plans to introduce a cheap ‘family car’ there that will likely sell in big numbers, an executive said Friday. “But Toyota has no ambitions to become No. 1 in the Chinese market,” said executive vice-president Yukitoshi Funo, who oversees emerging markets for the Japanese automaker. “In big markets like China, the top maker should be domestic,” he said. He had similar feelings about the US market, where he said that General Motors Co. and Ford Motor Co. should retain top market shares. Funo did not explain this belief expect to note Renault SA’s dominance in France and Volkswagen AG in Germany. Toyota, the world’s biggest automaker in global vehicle sales, holds top market share in Japan. Volkswagen and General Motors vie for top market share in China but Funo said that Chinese automakers are likely to get stronger and emerge No. 1. Funo stressed the sales potential of an entry-level car in China, comparing that to how Japanese had snatched up Toyota Corolla subcompacts during the nation’s decades of modernization. He did not give details of the planned affordable model, but said that it will be more expensive than offerings from Chinese manufacturers. Toyota also hopes to increase its dealers in China, Funo told reporters at Toyota’s Tokyo office. Toyota, which makes the Prius hybrid and Lexus luxury models, now has about 550 dealer shops in China, including Lexus showrooms. Like other major automakers, Toyota has been hit by the slowdown in mature markets such as the US, Europe and Japan, and it is expecting to lose money for the fiscal year ending March 2010. Growth in China is one area Toyota where can hope to offset losses. “Toyota has also benefited from government ecological incentives, which have boosted hybrid sales. But they can run out of steam when the perks end,” Funo said. “Sales can be artificially inflated by scrap incentives,” he said. Source: World Business - Livemint.com | 25 Sep 2009 | 3:16 am Toyota eyes China with new affordable ‘family car’ Tokyo: Toyota Motor Corp. is counting on growth in China, and plans to introduce a cheap ‘family car’ there that will likely sell in big numbers, an executive said Friday. “But Toyota has no ambitions to become No. 1 in the Chinese market,” said executive vice-president Yukitoshi Funo, who oversees emerging markets for the Japanese automaker. “In big markets like China, the top maker should be domestic,” he said. He had similar feelings about the US market, where he said that General Motors Co. and Ford Motor Co. should retain top market shares. Funo did not explain this belief expect to note Renault SA’s dominance in France and Volkswagen AG in Germany. Toyota, the world’s biggest automaker in global vehicle sales, holds top market share in Japan. Volkswagen and General Motors vie for top market share in China but Funo said that Chinese automakers are likely to get stronger and emerge No. 1. Funo stressed the sales potential of an entry-level car in China, comparing that to how Japanese had snatched up Toyota Corolla subcompacts during the nation’s decades of modernization. He did not give details of the planned affordable model, but said that it will be more expensive than offerings from Chinese manufacturers. Toyota also hopes to increase its dealers in China, Funo told reporters at Toyota’s Tokyo office. Toyota, which makes the Prius hybrid and Lexus luxury models, now has about 550 dealer shops in China, including Lexus showrooms. Like other major automakers, Toyota has been hit by the slowdown in mature markets such as the US, Europe and Japan, and it is expecting to lose money for the fiscal year ending March 2010. Growth in China is one area Toyota where can hope to offset losses. “Toyota has also benefited from government ecological incentives, which have boosted hybrid sales. But they can run out of steam when the perks end,” Funo said. “Sales can be artificially inflated by scrap incentives,” he said. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 25 Sep 2009 | 3:16 am Rupee recovers early loss, tracks choppy stocksMumbai: The Indian rupee recovered early losses on Friday afternoon but still traded weaker than the previous close, tracking local share prices. At 2:55pm, the partially convertible rupee was at Rs48.05/06 per dollar, off an early low of Rs48.31, its lowest since 16 September, but still weaker than Thursday’s close of Rs47.95/96. Share prices were trading 0.6% weaker. The main share index had fallen as much as 0.97% in the opening deals, and had briefly turned positive. The rupee hit an intraday high of Rs47.92 per dollar when the shares had turned briefly positive. In the currency futures market the most traded near-month contracts were at Rs48.1625 on the National Stock Exchange and MCX-SX, weaker than Thursday’s close of Rs48.0850. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 25 Sep 2009 | 3:13 am TOPWRAP 2-G20 takes helm of world economy, to revamp bank rules - Reuters
Source: Business - Google News | 25 Sep 2009 | 3:11 am G-20 takes helm of world economyPittsburgh: The Group of 20 will take on the role of caretakers of the global economy, giving rising powers such as China more clout, and roll out tougher rules on bank capital by the end of 2012, a draft communique said on Friday. Heading into the second day of a summit aimed at ensuring the world economy emerges from its worst recession in generations with better safeguards against another crisis, the G-20 also vowed to keep emergency economic support in place until a recovery is secured, according to the draft obtained by Reuters. “We will act to ensure that when growth returns jobs do too. said. “We will avoid any premature withdrawal of stimulus.” The document said G-20 countries had a “responsibility to the community of nations to assure the overall health of the global economy” and pledged to try to secure next year a deal in long-running world trade talks. The group, which accounts for 90% of the world’s economic output, also agreed to rein in financial industry excesses that triggered the credit crisis two years ago, and to tighten rules on how much capital banks must have to absorb losses. The new rules aimed at improving the quality and amount of capital should be ready by the end of 2010 and will be phased in in the following two years, the draft said. It also tackled the contentious issue of bankers’ pay schemes, blamed for fostering a high-risk corporate culture that led to heavy losses and taxpayer-funded bailouts. The document suggested linking pay to “long-term value creation, not excessive risk-taking.” However, it did not mention direct monetary caps on pay as proposed by French President Nicholas Sarkozy and some other European Union leaders. The final version of the communique will be issued when the leaders wind up their meeting on Friday evening and French officials said the summit has not yet reached final agreement on executive pay. Emerging winners Emerging economies looked to be the surprise winners as the leaders sought to finalize agreements on an ambitious agenda that included building a more stable world economy, reforming bank regulations and tackling climate change. In another boost for countries such as China or India, the G-20 unexpectedly moved close to a deal shifting more voting power at the International Monetary Fund to some developing countries, recognizing their growing economic power. In return, as the draft communique suggested, the G-20 won their commitment to do their part in rebalancing the world economy. That rebalancing act involves the debt-laden United States saving more and export powerhouse China consuming more. The draft said that G20 countries with either “sustained, significant” surpluses - a description that could fit China - pledged to “strengthen domestic sources of growth.” By the same token, countries with big deficits - such as the United States - pledged to support private savings. It was, however, unlikely any countries would consent to G-20-imposed rules on how to run their domestic economy. Some of that shift is already happening as a consequence of the global recession. US consumers - long viewed as the world’s “shoppers of last resort” - have cut spending as sinking home and stock values took a big chunk out of household wealth, while China is spending about $600 billion to stimulate its domestic economy and make it less dependent on exports. US President Barack Obama’s first G-20 summit as host tests his ability to juggle domestic and foreign policy. As Obama welcomed G-20 leaders to a working dinner in Pittsburgh on Thursday, lawmakers in Washington were hashing out terms of a contentious healthcare reform bill that is the cornerstone of his domestic policy agenda. Top forum After two years of financial turmoil, the global economy now appears to be recovering far faster than many economists had predicted, largely thanks to furious interest rate cuts, emergency central bank lending, and roughly $5 trillion in government stimulus money. But with unemployment high and banks still struggling to absorb heavy losses primarily from failing US mortgage loans, the pressure is on the G20 to sustain the economic assistance and coordinate how and when the emergency stimulus is phased out. “We designated the G-20 to be the premier forum for our international economic cooperation,” the draft communique said. The move means the G-20 supplants the G-7 and G-8 - institutions dominated by rich Western economies, which will now remain forums for discussing geopolitical issues, diplomats said. The G-20, which includes the world’s richest nations and fast-growing emerging economies including China, India and Brazil, has become the primary venue for world leaders to meet on the financial crisis. Pittsburgh is the third G-20 summit in less than a year. The draft communique also showed leaders endorsed an agreement on phasing out subsidies for fossil fuels, a measure aimed at helping combat global warming, but with no fixed date for the change. Many G-20 governments, including countries such as China, India and Russia, give tax breaks and direct payments to companies that help them produce coal, oil and other fossil fuels that cause greenhouse gases blamed for global warming. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 25 Sep 2009 | 3:09 am Piramal Glass says its rights issue completed successfullyMumbai: Piramal Glass Limited (PGL), a leading global manufacturer of flaconnage (glass containers) for the pharmaceuticals and cosmetics and perfumery industries, on Friday announced the successful completion of its rights issue. PGL has raised Rs187.35 crore by issuing 62.4 million shares at a price of Rs30 per share, including a premium of Rs20 per share. The issue was closed on 9 September, a press release issued here on Friday said. As stated in the objectives of the issue, the proceeds from the issue, net of expenses, will be utilised for reducing debt. Consequently, the debt-equity ratio of the company would improve, the release said. Piramal Glass’ managing director, Vijay Shah, said that “this rights issue offering has improved the capital structure of the company and this will help in meeting our growth aspirations.” The lead manager for this issue was Kotak Mahindra Capital Company. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 25 Sep 2009 | 3:05 am Asarco judge recommends Grupo Mexico bid againNEW YORK (Reuters) - A U.S. bankruptcy judge on Thursday rejected attempts by India's Sterlite Industries Ltd to sweeten its offer for U.S. copper miner Asarco LLC, and recommended for the second time that rival bidder Grupo Mexico SAB de CV regain control of the company.Source: Reuters: Money News | 25 Sep 2009 | 3:02 am Gold traders stock up for festivalsMumbai: India gold traders picked up bargains on Friday to stock for festivals, due next week, as prices stayed near their two-week low, dealers said. “The (gold) market is in full action, there is activity in all the centres as prices are near $995 (an ounce). I sold around 300 kgs since morning,” said Pinakin Vyas, chief manager, treasury, IndusInd Bank in Mumbai. “There is good amount of buying after yesterday’s price dip. It’s come at a right time” said a dealer with a state-run bullion dealing bank in Mumbai. The most-traded October contract traded near its two-week low at 15,588 rupees per 10 gram at 2:03pm. The contract shed 1.5% in the previous session, after witnessing a low of 15,550, a level last seen on 10 September, when a strong dollar overseas spurred selling. Interational gold was at 995.00/996.20 an ounce as against 993.75/995.75 on Thursday. India, the world’s largest consumer of the yellow metal, is in the midst of the festival season, with Dussera on Monday and Diwali and Dhanteras next month, which is expected to revive sagging gold sales. Further decline in prices could revive buying appetite, they added. “I still have plenty of orders at around $980 (an ounce),” said IndusInd’s Vyas. The World Gold Council’s January to June figures show India’s gold imports fell 55% to 126.7 tonnes from 282.3 tonnes a year earlier. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 25 Sep 2009 | 3:02 am World Bank-Pakistan announce trust fund for conflict areas Pittsburgh: The World Bank and Pakistan have announced the establishment of a trust fund to improve infrastructure, services and livelihoods in the country’s conflict-affected areas. The initiative was announced at Friends of Democratic Pakistan Summit meeting held in New York, co-chaired by US President Barack Obama along with his Pakistani counterpart Asif Ali Zardari and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown. The Multi Donor Trust Fund (MDTF) will support a comprehensive reconstruction and development strategy in Northwest Frontier Province (NWFP), Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), and also parts of Balochistan, the World Bank said in a statement. The work will be guided by a post-conflict needs assessment currently being prepared by the World Bank, Asian Development Bank, United Nations, and European Commission. It will assess damage and reconstruction needs and provide a strategy for addressing the underlying grievances fueling the conflict such as social inequities, endemic poverty, and weak governance, it said. Noting that a strong international response is needed to help Pakistan overcome development challenges, the World Bank president, Robert B. Zoellick, said: “We hope to see a strong support from Pakistan’s development partners to this important trust fund.” The strong military action by Pakistan in the NWFP and FATA early this year led to one of the worst security crises in Pakistan’s history, displacing 2.7 million people and severely disrupting the lives, livelihoods, and provision of normal public services. “Today, three months after the military campaign in the Swat Valley began, security is improving and schools have reopened in most places,” Zoellick said. “It is critical now to reach the millions of people touched by this massive disruption with quick and effective assistance,” he said. “I am delighted to announce that the World Bank has agreed, at the request of Pakistan and its partners, to create and manage this trust fund which will provide a coordinated financing mechanism for investments to support reconstruction and peace building,” he added. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 25 Sep 2009 | 3:00 am Euro zone private loans fall for second monthFrankfurt: Bank lending to euro-zone homes and businesses fell in August for the second month running, taking annual lending growth to a virtual standstill. The European Central Bank said on Friday private sector loans contracted on a monthly basis and annual growth hit a new record low of just 0.1% in August, from a revised 0.7% in July. The slowdown was sharper than the 0.3% annual growth economists had expected, although in one encouraging sign, business loans grew slightly on a month-by-month basis. Speaking in Luxembourg, ECB governing council Yves Mersch said he saw no credit crunch in the 16-nation region, where lending has been weak for months despite massive injections of central bank funding. “We can’t see a credit crunch, but we can’t rule it out altogether either,” he told a banking conference in Luxembourg. Economists agreed. “We think that this weakness is mainly driven by the reluctance of companies to borrow to invest, given that profit margins remain under pressure, said Fortis Bank economist Nick Kounis. “Overall, there is still little evidence of a credit crunch developing in the euro zone, although the real test will come when companies start to require significant funds for capital spending.” Annual growth in loans to firms dropped to 0.7%, from 1.6% in July, and remained negative for households, the ECB data showed. Narrow money indicator M1, which many see as an economic growth indicator, accelerated to an annual pace of 13.6% in August, up from 12.1% July and the fastest since October 1999, adding to hopes that the worst of the recession is past. Backing this view, consumer confidence in French and Germany—the region’s two biggest economies—rose. Germany’s forward-looking GfK indicator hit a 16-month high in October. “It’s a good sign that the consumer climate has improved again. But I think we need to be careful. The worst isn’t behind us on the job market yet, so there could be setbacks,” said Juergen Michels at Citigroup. “But it’s good that the mood has improved. The desire to spend should boost consumption despite the muted outlook on incomes.” The ECB has lent banks massive amounts of cheap funds in recent months and urged them to pass the money on to customers, although policymakers have said weak economic growth is also curbing demand for debt. The ECB figures also showed annual growth of M3 money supply—a broad measure of money available to spend—slowed to 2.5% from 3.0% in July, below the 2.7% growth expected by economists. Source: World Business - Livemint.com | 25 Sep 2009 | 2:56 am BSNL, MTNL cagey on tieup with Vavasi for Zain stakeBharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd may go after a stake in the Kuwaitbased Zain Telecom by themselves.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 25 Sep 2009 | 2:43 am Natco expecting Rs600 crore turnover by this fiscal endHyderabad-based Pharma company, Natco, which launched a drug similar to Tamiflu, is expecting a turnover of Rs600 crore by this fiscal end, a top company official said.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 25 Sep 2009 | 2:39 am GM ties up with RevaGM India and Reva Electric Car company (RECC) has announced a collaboration, under which they would jointly develop electric vehicles (EVs) for the home market.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 25 Sep 2009 | 2:38 am Sterlite says still in race for AsarcoMumbai: India’s Sterlite Industries is still in the race to acquire bankrupt US copper producer Asarco LLC, a senior official said on Friday. On Thursday, Grupo Mexico SAB de CV said a US bankruptcy judge issued a report to the US district court ratifying his previous recommendation for confirmation of its reorganisation plan for its subsidiary, Asarco. “He has repeated his earlier opinion. Now it will go to the district court for hearing,” said Tarun Jain, director of finance at Sterlite Industries. “Our bid is there and we are very much in the race,” he added. Sterlite and Grupo Mexico are locked in an intense battle for the control of the American copper producer. Sterlite shares were trading down 2.1% at Rs746, on the BSE, down 0.8%. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 25 Sep 2009 | 2:33 am Uttar Pradesh power crisis dims Durga Puja festive glitterThe ongoing power crisis in Uttar Pradesh threatens to cast a shadow over Durga Puja celebrations in the state. Many puja committees have decided not to hold grand functions due to the power shortage and some have even threatened not to perform the daily puja.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 25 Sep 2009 | 2:32 am Modicare reinvents itself, launches 30 new productsDirect selling company Modicare that is on a revamping mode launched 30 products across six categories here Friday.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 25 Sep 2009 | 2:30 am Balco chimney collapse toll up to 36; many missingRAIPUR, India (Reuters) - Rescuers have retrieved 36 bodies from the rubble of an industrial chimney that collapsed in Chhattisgarh, but officials fear the death toll could surge as dozens of workers were still missing on Friday.Source: Reuters: Money News | 25 Sep 2009 | 2:20 am GE extends Mah Satyam's multi-million dollar order by 3 yrs - Moneycontrol.com
Source: Business - Google News | 25 Sep 2009 | 2:13 am Nomura shares tumble on $5.6 bn share sale plan Tokyo: Investors unloaded shares of Nomura Holdings Inc. on Friday, after Japan’s leading brokerage announced its biggest ever equity sale. Nomura stock closed down almost 16% at ¥573 after going untraded for much of the day due to the glut of sell orders. The Tokyo-based company, which bought Lehman Brothers’ Asian and European operations last year on Thursday said that it will raise up to ¥510 billion ($5.6 billion) to augment its capital and improve business abroad. It will offer 400 million shares overseas, targeting mainly European investors, and another 370 million shares of common stock at home, with an overallotment option of about 34 million shares. The price will be set between 5-7 October, the Tokyo-based brokerage said. The new shares represent roughly 30% of its outstanding stock. The capital infusion is aimed at strengthening our business foundation in the US as well as Asia, which includes Japan, and Europe, Nomura said in a statement. We believe that reinforcement and allocation of capital into profitable and growing operations would contribute to improve our future growth and profitability, the company said. Nomura posted a group net profit of ¥11.4 billion ($120 million) in the April-June quarter, in a turnaround after the costs of acquiring Lehman Brothers led to a record loss last year. The company’s announcement came after trading ended on the Tokyo Stock Exchange Thursday. Overnight, its shares traded in New York tumbled more than 15% as equity dilution concerns seemed to overshadow the potential benefits of a capital increase. Nomura’s move dragged the overall Tokyo market lower Friday. The benchmark Nikkei 225 stock average fell 2.6% to 10,265.98. Credit Suisse decreased its target price on the issue to ¥820 from ¥920. But it maintained its highest outperform rating on the issue, urging investors to look at the bigger picture. “If the proceeds of the capitalization are used to strengthen the overseas business, then this could provide new profit opportunities, and we believe investors should concentrate on the future upside rather than the downside,” analyst Azuma Ohno said in a note to clients. Source: World Business - Livemint.com | 25 Sep 2009 | 2:00 am Nomura shares tumble on $5.6 bn share sale plan Tokyo: Investors unloaded shares of Nomura Holdings Inc. on Friday, after Japan’s leading brokerage announced its biggest ever equity sale. Nomura stock closed down almost 16% at ¥573 after going untraded for much of the day due to the glut of sell orders. The Tokyo-based company, which bought Lehman Brothers’ Asian and European operations last year on Thursday said that it will raise up to ¥510 billion ($5.6 billion) to augment its capital and improve business abroad. It will offer 400 million shares overseas, targeting mainly European investors, and another 370 million shares of common stock at home, with an overallotment option of about 34 million shares. The price will be set between 5-7 October, the Tokyo-based brokerage said. The new shares represent roughly 30% of its outstanding stock. The capital infusion is aimed at strengthening our business foundation in the US as well as Asia, which includes Japan, and Europe, Nomura said in a statement. We believe that reinforcement and allocation of capital into profitable and growing operations would contribute to improve our future growth and profitability, the company said. Nomura posted a group net profit of ¥11.4 billion ($120 million) in the April-June quarter, in a turnaround after the costs of acquiring Lehman Brothers led to a record loss last year. The company’s announcement came after trading ended on the Tokyo Stock Exchange Thursday. Overnight, its shares traded in New York tumbled more than 15% as equity dilution concerns seemed to overshadow the potential benefits of a capital increase. Nomura’s move dragged the overall Tokyo market lower Friday. The benchmark Nikkei 225 stock average fell 2.6% to 10,265.98. Credit Suisse decreased its target price on the issue to ¥820 from ¥920. But it maintained its highest outperform rating on the issue, urging investors to look at the bigger picture. “If the proceeds of the capitalization are used to strengthen the overseas business, then this could provide new profit opportunities, and we believe investors should concentrate on the future upside rather than the downside,” analyst Azuma Ohno said in a note to clients. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 25 Sep 2009 | 2:00 am Kerala triggers interest at French tourism fairKerala, which for the first time is participating at the International French Tourism Mart (IFTM) Top Resa in Paris that concludes Friday, has received 47 industry-related queries, the government said.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 25 Sep 2009 | 1:32 am India’s moon water probe could yield more finds: scientistsNew Delhi: Indian space scientists whose satellite detected water on the Moon’s surface said on Friday that their programme might yield further discoveries once all the data is analysed. “Chandrayaan I has found water on the moon, it is a grand success,” Indian Space Research Management chairman G. Madhavan Nair said. “Our team is analysing all the details. There could be much more interesting facts. We will talk about all of it once we have concrete data analysis report,” he said. In one of the three papers published in the latest edition of the journal Science, researchers said that they analysed light waves detected by an instrument on board the Indian satellite. “The reflected light waves indicated a chemical bond between oxygen and hydrogen—proof of the existence of water on the Moon’s surface,” the researchers said. Source: Tech News - Livemint.com | 25 Sep 2009 | 1:31 am Sensex trading flat in afternoon tradeA key index of the Indian equities markets was trading flat a little after Friday noon while sentiments remained subdued at other Asian markets.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 25 Sep 2009 | 1:00 am 34 bodies retrieved, dozens still trapped under crashed Balco chimneyRescuers had retrieved the bodies of 34 workers till Friday noon from the Bharat Aluminium Company Ltd (Balco) plant in Chhattisgarh and were struggling to remove the debris of a 100-metre chimney that crashed two days ago. Police fear dozens are still trapped underneath.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 25 Sep 2009 | 1:00 am Oil rebounds above $66 after tumbling 4.5%Perth: Oil rebounded above $66 a barrel on Friday, after a drop of more than 4% to its lowest in eight weeks as weak US home sales stoked doubts about the pace of a fuel demand recovery in the world’s top energy consumer. Spooked by government data showing a large build in US crude oil stockpiles earlier in the week, oil prices are on track to snap two straight weeks of gains and post a drop of nearly 8% this week, making their worst weekly performance in about two months. US crude for November delivery was up 18 cents at $66.05 a barrel by 0700 GMT, after settling down $3.08 on Thursday. London Brent crude gained 29 cents to $65.44. Analysts said oil’s gain on Friday was largely a technical rebound, with demand and supply fundamentals still weak and showing little sign of improvement. “There is a strong technical resistance at around the $65 level and prices are bouncing back now because the market still believes that prices will start rising towards the $75 level, when US crude stocks come down in the fourth quarter,” said Tony Nunan, an analyst at Mitsubishi Corp in Tokyo. Financial and consumer-related shares rose in Asia and the US dollar turned lower on Friday as G20 leaders pledged in a draft statement to keep some stimulus supports in place until a recovery is clearer. Crude prices tumbled 4.5% on Thursday as traders shrugged off a positive report of a fall in the number of US workers filing for jobless benefits claims, and focused instead on poor US home sales data that fell unexpectedly in August for the first time in four months, indicating a less vigorous pace of economic recovery from a deep recession. Additional pressure came from a report that Opec seaborne oil exports, excluding Angola and Ecuador, will rise 160,000 barrels per day in the four weeks to 10 October. In a sign that Asian demand would continue to stay listless in the near term, Japan Energy Corp, the nation’s sixth-largest oil refiner, said on Friday it planned to cut its crude oil processing volumes for Oct-Dec by 11% from the same period a year earlier due to slow domestic demand. Japan’s third-biggest refiner, Idemitsu Kosan Co, said it shut a 60,000-barrel-per-day fuel oil desulphurisation unit at its Aichi refinery in western Japan on Thursday after a fire. Oil has traded in a wide band of between $65-$75 in the past month and most analysts agree that prices would only break out of the $75 range when the supply glut in the U.S. -- where oil stockpiles are around 9% above its five-year average levels -- starts to ease. “Gradually improving demand conditions amid continued supply tightness should accelerate the pace of erosion of the currently large inventory overhang, thereby starting to provide the momentum required to break to the upside of the current trading range,” Barclays Bank said in a research note. Hugoi Chavez, president of Opec nation Venezuela said on Thursday he expected oil prices to stabilise at a level of at least $80 a barrel by early next year. Economic data on tap for Friday includes US durable goods orders for August, Reuters and University of Michigan consumer sentiment for September and US new home sales data for August. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 25 Sep 2009 | 12:45 am Noon: Markets down on stimulus exit concernsBangalore: Indian shares fell 0.2% in a choppy trade on Friday, trailing losses in global markets on fears authorities around the world might start withdrawing some of the stimulus measures taken to shore up crisis-hit economies. Outsourcer Infosys Technologies dropped as much as 1.8% to Rs2,245, after signs of weakness in the US housing market signalled a less vigorous pace of economic recovery in its key market. No. 2 Lender ICICI Bank fell 1.2% to Rs849.45. Citigroup said it believed Indian banks’ profitability and stock performance would be under significant pressure in the near term as there was pressure on interest rates to rise. “The market is showing clear signs of tiredness and the last few weeks’ exuberance is now giving way to caution,” said K.K. Mital, head of portfolio management services at Globe Capital in New Delhi. The Indian market hit a 16-month high of 16,943.49 on Tuesday, at which point it was up more than 75% in 2009. “There is still lot of money waiting on the sidelines of the market, but people want a correction to take place first,” he said. “A clear pattern for the market will only emerge next month as the earning results start coming out.” At 12:07pm, the 30-share BSE index was down 0.24% at 16,740.67 points, with 16 components in the red. The broader 50-share NSE index was down 0.23% at 4,975. The benchmark had fallen as much as 0.97% in the opening deals, and had briefly turned positive in morning deals. The index is still up 7% so far this month. Brokerage Religare said in a report the market would remain under pressure if it could not build a base above 16,890, and advised investors to book profits. Stocks elsewhere in Asia fell and the US dollar extended gains on Friday on fears liquidity could get tighter on signs central banks were readying to start winding down extraordinary stimulus measures. Major world central banks announced on Thursday that they planned to scale back massive injections of US dollars into their banking systems as financial markets stabilise after a devastating crisis. “India is not decoupled from the global markets and therefore withdrawal of the stimulus packages will have some impact on the domestic markets, but it may not be a very big impact,” Mital said. Shares in top outsourcer Tata Consultancy Services were down 1.7% at Rs589.50 after its top executives told Reuters it would take another few months to tell whether business spending was recovering. The trend was positive in the broader market with 1,779 gainers leading 780 losers on a high volume of 293 million shares. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 25 Sep 2009 | 12:44 am Sensex weak amid volatility; broader indices outperform - Moneycontrol.com
Source: Business - Google News | 25 Sep 2009 | 12:32 am Air India headhunts for a COOAir India has begun a global hunt for a chief operating officer to streamline operations and help it come out of the financial mess that has led to accumulated losses of over $4 billion.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 25 Sep 2009 | 12:31 am Morgan Stanley leads as M&A shows signs of lifeLONDON/NEW YORK (Reuters) - Morgan Stanley is outrunning archrival Goldman Sachs as 2009's busiest adviser on mergers as optimism grows that the crippling effects of the financial crisis on dealmaking may be easing.Source: Reuters: Money News | 25 Sep 2009 | 12:29 am G-20 stimulus pledge helps push Asia stocksHong Kong: Financial and consumer-related shares rose in Asia and the US dollar turned lower on Friday as G-20 leaders pledged in a draft statement to keep some stimulus supports in place until a recovery is clearer. Major European shares were expected to open higher, according to financial bookmakers, following the draft statements that were obtained by Reuters. US stock futures reversed early losses and rose 0.3%. Japan’s Nikkei share average led declining equity markets in Asia, falling 2.5%. Bank shares dropped after Nomura Holdings said it would raise in an equity offering up to $5.6 billion, what one broker pointed out was 24 times its average daily turnover. Banks in Japan also received a blow from financial services minister Shizuka Kamei who expressed interest in introducing a moratorium on the repayment of the principal on mortgages and bank loans to help small and midsize businesses. “Worries about the moratorium idea and the news about Nomura’s financing are weighing down on the financial sector,” Junichi Misawa, senior fund manager at STB Asset Management in Tokyo said. The MSCI index of Asia Pacific shares outside Japan was largely unchanged, not far from a 13-month high hit on Wednesday. The consumer discretionary sector was a clear favourite among investors in the wake of the draft G-20 statements to promote more balanced current accounts. A Thomson Reuters index of regional shares was also nearly unchanged. World index down The MSCI all-country world index is down 1.7% so far this week, on track for the biggest weekly decline since the week of 12 July. The index is up 25% year-to-date, but the likelihood that economic news will continue to deliver positive surprises and trigger more buying was smaller. “Our trading stance remains ‘pro-risk,´ reflecting our view that this pullback - like those before it - will likely be temporary,” said Dominic Wilson, director of global macro and markets research with Goldman Sachs, in a note. “But industrial news is undershooting a bit lately relative to high expectations and it is less clear what will take the market higher in the very near-term.” Despite an eight-week streak of outflows from safe haven money market funds being broken, equity funds took in $5.42 billion in the week to 23 September, with emerging market equity funds having their biggest week of inflows since early June, fund tracker EPFR Global said in a note. In currency markets, the dollar was down against most major currencies. The euro was up 0.1% to $1.4685 after climbing to the highest in a year above $1.48 on Wednesday. Sterling continued to be an open target after Bank of England’s Mervyn King said on Thursday that a weak currency was helping the domestic economy. After dropping 1.8% on Thursday, the pound fell a further 0.4% to $1.5991. The Australian dollar, which has maintained a tight relationship with global equity markets, rose 0.3% to US$0.8682. US Treasuries were steady after a rush out of equities on Thursday weighed on yields. Japanese government bonds gained after the overnight Treasuries rally, with the December 10-year JGB future up 0.22 point after earlier hitting the highest since 15 September. US crude futures recovered after tumbling over 4% to an eight-week low the previous day when weak US home sales increased fears about the pace of economic recovery in the world’s top oil consumer nation. US crude for November delivery was up 0.7% at $66.33 a barrel, after settling down $3.08 on Thursday, when the housing data added to demand worries following a report earlier in the week of a large build in oil stockpiles. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 25 Sep 2009 | 12:29 am G-20 leaders pledge to quicken Doha dealPittsburgh: World leaders promised to work as “quickly as possible” to conclude long-running world trade talks and have their top trade officials hold a stock-taking session by early next year, a draft G-20 document said on Friday. “We remain committed to further trade liberalization. We are determined to seek an ambitious and balanced conclusion to the Doha development round in 2010,” the leaders said in the draft communique obtained by Reuters. Leaders of the Group of 20, which groups major industrialized and developing countries, were gathered in Pittsburgh for talks aimed at putting the world on a path to more sustainable growth following the worst economic downturn in decades. The final draft of their communique will be issued at the end of their two-day meeting The Doha round, launched in late 2001 with the goal of help poor countries prosper through trade, is already the longest set of world trade negotiations since the modern rules-based trading system began. After nearly eight years of negotiation, World Trade Organization members still have not reached agreement on core formulas, known in trade jargon as “modalities,” for cutting agricultural and industrial tariffs and reducing trade-distorting farm subsidies. “We note that in order to conclude the negotiations in 2010, closing those gaps should proceed as quickly as possible,” the leaders said in the draft text. The language reflects a compromise between the United States, which was wary of setting a target to reach a deal on modalities this year, and other countries led by the European Union, Brazil and Australia pushing for swift progress. The G-20 leaders also said it was “imperative we stand together to fight against protectionism,” repeating a pledge they made in two previous meetings and that critics say has been too often ignored in the past year. US President Barack Obama’s decision this month to slap a 35% tariff on tire imports from China is one of the most recent examples singled out by such critics. US officials defend the action as legal under a “safeguard” provision that Beijing accepted as a term of its entry into the WTO in 2001. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 25 Sep 2009 | 12:10 am Cipla raises Rs 676 crore via QIP; stk gains - Moneycontrol.com
Source: Business - Google News | 25 Sep 2009 | 12:05 am India has taken a principled stand on CTBT: KrishnaUnited Nations: External affairs minister SM Krishna has said that the country has taken a “principled” stand on the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) and there is no scope for change in its position unless a number of other “developments” take place to address the concerns. This comes after a high-level conference on disarmament on Thursday, addressed by UN general secretary Ban Ki Moon, asked India and eight other countries to ratify the agreement so that it comes into force. “India has taken a position and we don’t see any reason for changing our stand, Krishna said. “We have taken a principled stand and and so the question of India revisiting it stand depends on a number of other developments that would address our concerns,” he added. Earlier, Moon said that “the CTBT is a fundamental building block for a free world of nuclear weapons”. “By establishing a global norm against testing, the CTBT has made a significant contribution to the world community’s efforts to prevent the proliferation of nuclear weapons and to promote nuclear disarmament,” he added. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 25 Sep 2009 | 12:03 am Delhi-Noida metro trains to start running by end of 2009The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) Friday said its Delhi-Noida section will be operational by the end of 2009.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 25 Sep 2009 | 12:00 am RBI cautions banks on group exposure risk in realty sectorMumbai, Sept. 24 The Reserve Bank of India on Thursday told banks to meticulously assess the inherent group risk on borrowal accounts coming under the real estate category.Source: Business Line - Home Page | 25 Sep 2009 | 12:00 am Figo: For Ford the hard drive begins nowMumbai, Sept. 24 Ford has finally thrown its hat in the small car ring with the Figo, scheduled to debut by the first quarter ofSource: Business Line - Home Page | 25 Sep 2009 | 12:00 am Day Trading GuideUtilise rallies to sell DLF with stiff stop at Rs 434. Fresh long position can be initiated if ICICI Bank surpasses Rs 873 and SBI exceeds Rs 2,174, with tight stop-loss. As long asSource: Business Line - Home Page | 25 Sep 2009 | 12:00 am Wipro weighing options on design centre in FranceWipro Technologies said it would decide on the future of the Sophia Antipolis design centre in France only after the ongoing talks with Works Council and the employee representatives are concluded.Source: Business Line - Home Page | 25 Sep 2009 | 12:00 am Tatas tune up plan to revive Jaguar, Land RoverMumbai, Sept. 24 There is finally light at the end of the tunnel for Jaguar and Land Rover with the owner, Tata Motors, geared for a turnaround plan. This involves shutting down one of the two West Midland plants by 2014, expansion of theSource: Business Line - Home Page | 25 Sep 2009 | 12:00 am L&T bags Rs 2,000-cr order from GMR EnergyMumbai Sept. 24 Larsen & Toubro has bagged a Rs 2,000-crore order from GMR Energy for setting up a 2x384 MW gas-based power plant at Vemagiri near Rajahmundry, Andhra Pradesh. The work includes design, detailed engineering, supply,Source: Business Line - Home Page | 25 Sep 2009 | 12:00 am Public sector banks’ advance tax outgo points to robust profitsNew Delhi, Sept. 24 Public sector and state-owned banks foresee robust net profit growth in 2009-10 going by the healthy rise in their advance tax payouts for the period up to the September 15 instalment.Source: Business Line - Home Page | 25 Sep 2009 | 12:00 am Claiming payment default, RIL warns Reliance Infra of turning off gasMumbai, Sept. 24 Reliance Industries Ltd has put Reliance Infrastructure, an Anil Ambani group company, on notice that it would cut gas supply to the latter’s 220-MW power plant at Samalkot in Andhra Pradesh, claiming the latter hasSource: Business Line - Home Page | 25 Sep 2009 | 12:00 am GM ties up with RevaGM India and Reva Electric Car company (RECC) has announced a collaboration, under which they would jointly develop electric vehicles (EVs) for the homeSource: Business Line - Home Page | 25 Sep 2009 | 12:00 am PVR (Rs 148.6): BuyWe recommend a buy in the stock of PVR from a short-term perspective. It is evident from the charts of PVR that the stock has been on an intermediate-term uptrend from its December 2008 low of Rs 57.5. Moreover, it has been on medium-term uptrendSource: Business Line - Home Page | 25 Sep 2009 | 12:00 am Indian rupee eases on weak Asian equities; dlr up - Reuters India
Source: Business - Google News | 24 Sep 2009 | 11:11 pm Sensex tanks 162 points in opening trade on profit-bookingBesides, State Bank of India was down by 0.63 per cent to Rs2,145, ICICI Bank by 1.31 per cent to Rs 848.80 and Bharti Airtel by 1.31 per cent to Rs413.75.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 24 Sep 2009 | 11:07 pm TCS: need more time to gauge spending recoveryNEW YORK (Reuters) - The new head of Tata Consultancy Services Ltd, said on Thursday that it would take another few months to tell whether business spending was recovering, as customers were still working on their IT budgets for 2010.Source: Reuters: Money News | 24 Sep 2009 | 10:23 pm Ford to invest Rs 1500 cr more in Chennai facility - Sify
Source: Business - Google News | 24 Sep 2009 | 9:34 pm Forbes puts Adani firm on its Asia's Fab-50 listWith a market value of $3.2 billion (more than Rs15,000 crore), Adani Enterprises stands at the 46th place in the list but is ranked 29th in terms of sales.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 24 Sep 2009 | 8:51 pm Bharti fails to keep pace with Sensex on MTN overhang - Economic Times
Source: Business - Google News | 24 Sep 2009 | 4:52 pm Duty-free sugar imports extendedUnion minister for agriculture Sharad Pawar, on Thursday announced that the government has extended duty-free imports of sugar beyond the earlier deadline of November.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 24 Sep 2009 | 3:24 pm Selling a car? Follow these simple tipsDusshera is around the corner, so electronic goods and machines, including cars, should see an increase in demand.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 24 Sep 2009 | 3:14 pm RBI has begun tightening 'by stealth'Central bank is shrinking its balance sheet, says CLSA senior economist Sharmila WhelanSource: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 24 Sep 2009 | 2:56 pm HCL Info goes for rebrandingHCL Infosystems, the IT hardware services provider, said it will repackage its entire laptop range to target younger consumers.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 24 Sep 2009 | 2:50 pm Cairn names arbitrator in oil dev cess caseCairn India has appointed an international arbitrator in London to resolve the issue of the Rs 342 per barrel oil development cess on its Rajasthan production.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 24 Sep 2009 | 2:46 pm Now, US govt is giving out subprime loansIn a bizarre piece of logic, the Barack Obama-led administration has been giving out subprime loans through the Federal Housing Administration.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 24 Sep 2009 | 2:43 pm Rajiv Gandhi, Kochhar to get honours at DNA conclaveWith the economy showing signs of revival, the 'India Leadership Conclave 2009' will bring together top representatives of India IncSource: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 24 Sep 2009 | 2:41 pm Surviving, just about, in the commune gone sourThe sorry tale of how the Operating Managing Committees (OMC), the state-supported worker committees who were to manage tea estates in West Bengal after their exhausted owners gave up and instead ran these into the ground, while pocketing the money, has been reported in some detail.Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 24 Sep 2009 | 12:55 pm IIT faculty fasts for a day to protest low pay, 'micro-management'Most of the 1,500-odd faculty members of the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), who observed a day-long fast to express their dissatisfaction with the modified notification of the Union Ministry of Human Resource and Development (MHRD), reiterated that their protests were not just over pay increases but the ministry's attempt "to micro-manage the IITs".Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 24 Sep 2009 | 12:53 pm Ambani brothers in fresh gas disputeRIL issues notice to Reliance Infra to pay dues for supplies to its Andhra power plant.Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 24 Sep 2009 | 12:51 pm Chandrayaan find affirms claims of water on moonBangalore/New Delhi: India’s maiden lunar mission, Chandrayaan-1, found the strongest evidence yet that the moon isn’t the dry place it was thought to be, a finding that has been validated by a US space probe and which itself supported data that’s a decade old.  Water-ice formation: A schematic showing the stream of charged hydrogen ions carried from the sun by the solar wind. One possible scenario to explain hydration of the lunar surface is that during the daytime, when the moon is exposed to the solar wind, hydrogen ions liberate oxygen from lunar minerals to form hydroxyl and water, which are then weakly held to the surface. At high temperatures (red-yellow), more molecules are released than adsorbed. When the temperature decreases (green-blue), hydroxyl and water accumulate. University of Maryland/F Merlin/McREL Although there’s little evidence to suggest that life existed on the moon ever, water on its surface in any form is necessary to set up a base—both to exploit the moon’s resources such as helium-3, a clean nuclear fuel, and setting up a transit point for possible exploration of planets beyond, such as Mars. Ice that on heating vapourizes without the intermediary liquid state is called water-ice. Such ice naturally occurs in certain planets and their satellites. “Certainly, it will increase man’s interest in the moon,” P. Sreekumar, chief scientist of the Chandrayaan-1 mission, said over phone, calling the finding a “major discovery” and adding that the theory of the origin of the moon may have to be re-examined. The moon mineralogy mapper (M3), an instrument provided by the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Nasa) and fitted on board Chandrayaan-1, made the discovery. Scientists validated the finding when Deep Impact probe, another Nasa spacecraft, flew by the moon in June. Researchers also went back to data sent in 1999 by Cassini, a probe that passed the moon on its journey to Saturn. India’s first lunar mission, launched on 22 October 2008, was aborted prematurely on 30 August after its power systems failed and it lost contact with earth. Mission objectives included finding evidence of water and minerals such as helium-3. Scientists found a thin layer of hydrogen and oxygen—the two elements that make up water—bound together. The finding is a boost for India’s ambitions for deep space exploration. The Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) will follow up by landing a rover on the moon by 2013 and send probes to asteroids and Mars in the future amid a renewed burst of global interest in exploring outer space. India is targeting a human spaceflight by 2016 and eventually landing a man on the moon in the 2020s. The US plans to return a man to the moon by 2020, around when China plans to send a manned mission. Still, the most powerful evidence of water on the moon is likely to come from the Lunar CRater Observation and Sensing Satellite that will crash into the moon’s south pole on 9 October to sense the presence of water in the resulting debris, Lawrence Taylor of the University of Tennessee and one of the authors of three papers to be published in Science magazine on Friday, said in an email. In the past, researchers have found signs of ice in the moon’s polar region, located in deep craters that have never seen sunlight, but the latest findings indicate water on its surface. While the quantity is not precisely known, as much as 1,000 water molecule parts-per-million could be in the lunar soil, according to Carle Pieters, principal investigator of the M3 instrument and the author of one of the papers. Harvesting one tonne of the top layer of the moon’s surface would yield as much as 32 ounces, or about a cup of water, according to scientists involved in the discovery. “When we say ‘water on the moon’, we are not talking about lakes, oceans or even puddles,” Pieters said in a statement. “Water on the moon means molecules of water and hydroxyl that interact with molecules of rock and dust specifically in the top millimetres of the moon’s surface.” Experts are also prescribing caution. “There’s an expression that describes the moon as dry as a bone. In this case, the bone may be much wetter than the moon,” said Paul Lucey, a physicist at the University of Hawaii, in an email. “Somehow water trapped in the cold regions must be protected from ultraviolet rays (for a chunk of water ice to develop). Liquid water is not possible.” Lucey has published a commentary on the findings in Science journal. Last October, Junichi Haruyama of Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency and his team published a report in Science analysing images from the Japanese lunar probe, Selene or Kaguya, and stating that there was no water-ice at least on the surface of the lunar south pole, a region believed to hold water deposits. Significantly, the latest studies suggest a new theory to explain how water-ice could have formed on the moon. Hydrogen, an essential component of water, comes from solar wind that reacts with the oxygen. Over time, these drops of water gradually move towards the poles and form chunks of water-ice, said Jessica Sunshine of the University of Maryland, and one of the authors of the papers published in Science. raghu.k@livemint.com Source: Tech News - Livemint.com | 24 Sep 2009 | 12:19 pm JLR to shut factory in West Midlands, close pension schemeMumbai: The loss-making, UK-based Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) announced a major restructuring drive under its Indian owners Tata Motors Ltd that envisages shutting down a West Midlands factory and merging its existing employee pension programme with a defined contribution scheme. The plan to restructure includes “decisive actions to see through the next 12-18 months” a statement from JLR said. Faced with a severe contraction in demand for its Jaguar and Land Rover models, Tata Motors has rationalized production by at least 100,000 units, pared employee strength by 2,500, frozen pay and cancelled bonuses. These measures are still not enough to offset the impact of the downturn and take it to the next level of competitiveness, the statement said. In the first quarter ended June, JLR reported a net loss of $673 million (Rs3,237 crore) in the UK. New car sales, including those of Jaguar and Land Rover, are down by 25-30% globally. This has resulted in manufacturing capacity utilization of less than 60% in JLR, which has exposed “fundamental weaknesses” in the structure of the business. “This is a plan that recognizes the impact economic collapse has had on our business, and at the same time the opportunities that lie ahead for these two great brands,” David Smith, JLR’s chief executive officer, said in the statement. As part of the restructuring exercise, the company plans to close down one of its manufacturing units in the West Midlands in the next five years and introduce new-generation, lightweight sedans, sports cars and premium sport utility vehicles, said the statement. S. Ramnath, an analyst with IDFC Securities Ltd, says the planned closure is in line with expectations. “It’s a positive step directionally,” he said, adding that as the volume recovery will take time, this had to be the trigger to turn around the operations. Tata Motors spokesperson Debasis Ray said “no redundancies” are planned due to the closure. JLR spokesperson Aleen Hugher said “800 new jobs” will be created at the Halewood plant in Liverpool, where the smallest and most fuel-efficient variant of the Land Rover will be manufactured. “We are speaking about new investments of £800 million (Rs6,296 crore), which would be completely self-funded and made in three years,” Ray added. Source: World Business - Livemint.com | 24 Sep 2009 | 11:12 am Citi, Pepsico, Motorola among 500 greenest US cosNew York: Six companies led by India-origin people including banking behemoth Citigroup and soft drinks major Pepsico have been named among the greenest American companies by Newsweek magazine. The list of 500 Greenest big companies in the US compiled by Newsweek is topped by technology bellwether Hewlett-Packard. Among the firms led by India-origin individuals, three companies have made it into the top 50, with software entity Adobe Systems headed by Shantanu Narayen, ranked 16th. Mobile phone maker Motorola has cornered the 21st spot, while Vikram Pandit-led Citi is at the 24th place. India-origin Sanjay Jha is the co-CEO at Motorola. Indra Nooyi-led Pepsico is ranked 119th while financial services firm Hartford Financial Services and IT company Cognizant Technology are at 303rd and 449th positions, respectively. Hartford Financial is headed by Ramani Ayer while Francisco D’Souza is at the helm of Cognizant. At the second place is technology major Dell, pharma firm Johnson & Johnson is ranked third and technology entities — Intel and IBM — at the fourth and fifth spots, respectively. The ranking is based on three factors — environmental impact score, green policies score and reputation score. Other companies include McDonald’s (22), Microsoft (31), CB Richard Ellis (45), Coca-Cola (58), Wal-Mart (59), Yahoo! (69), eBay (76), Google (79), General Electric (82), Apple (133) and Washington Post (178). Source: World Business - Livemint.com | 24 Sep 2009 | 8:09 am Phishing attacks on Indian brands rising: SymantecNew Delhi: Software security firm Symantec said cyber criminals are targetting Indian brands for phishing attacks to solicit personal information from individuals and to launch money laundering scams. “Phishing is a growing menace in the Indian cybercrime scenario. With high traffic on the websites of Indian brands, we are seeing that their popularity is being targeted for phishing attacks as well,” Symantec India vice president (product operations) Shantanu Ghosh said. Phishing is an attempt by a third party to solicit confidential information from an individual, group or organisation by mimicking, or spoofing, a specific well-known brand, usually for financial gain. Such attacks have seen a rise in recent months with the first two weeks of August witnessing a four-fold increase from 0.05% to 2% of the overall attacks on Indian brands, he added. The company has released a list categorising various phishing attacks like Dynamic phishing (where the user clicks on a malicious links) and Flash phishing where the hacker mimics the advertisement of a reputed company and directs the user to a fake phishing website. Symantec estimates that in the last two years, over a 1,000 unique phishing attacks have been carried out on reputable Indian banks. “Brands in the BFSI sectors are the obvious choice for carrying out phishing attacks for the large amounts of money they have at stake. Apart from the victims, banks also face huge losses as a result of losing customers and reputation,” Ghosh said. SMS phishing or SMSishing is another form of attack where SMS messages are sent from a reputable source such as banks asking for personal details. Similarly, ‘Vishing´ uses voice through IVRs (Interactive Voice Response) to deceive users into providing personal and confidential information over the telephone. Attackers also use methods like bogus websites, websites with similar names (like Symantc.com instead of Symantec.com) or installing spyware in the user’s computer. “The measures to stay protected against them are simple. For starters, be aware that your bank will never ask you to confirm your details via email,” Ghosh said. Users should not click on the links in emails to get to websites and instead, manually type in the URL destination into the address bar of the browser even if it takes longer, he added. Source: Tech News - Livemint.com | 24 Sep 2009 | 5:34 am 13 Indian firms in Forbes Asia’s Fabulous 50 listKuala Lumpur: As many as 13 Indian companies, including Reliance Industries, Infosys Technologies and Tata Steel, have made it to the list of Forbes’ 50 best listed companies in the Asia-Pacific region. “Our list is a mix of giant, established companies- this year that list includes Australian miner BHP Billiton, Hong Kong conglomerate Noble Group and Indian oil and gas heavyweight Reliance Industries - and smaller outfits such as Agile property Holdings, Anhui Conch Cement and digital China Holdings,” Forbes Asia said in a statement. In the Forbes list, there are four Indian entities - Reliance Industries, Bharti Airtel, Infosys Technologies and Tata Consultancy Services - among the top ten firms in terms of market value, while Reliance Industries and Tata Steel feature in the top ten league in terms of sales. Other than RIL, Infosys and Tata Steel, the other Indian firms that have made it to the prestigious list include - Adani Enterprise, Axis Bank, Bharat Heavy Electricals, Bharti Airtel, HDFC bank, Jindal Steel & Power, Larsen and Toubro, Mahindra & Mahindra, Tata Consultancy Services and Wipro. The Indian league had four newcomers this year - Adani Enterprises, Axis Bank, Jindal Steel & Power and Tata Consultancy Services -- and among the Indian firms returning to the list include Bharat Heavy Electricals, Larsen & Toubro and Reliance Industries. China has again outdone the rest of the Asia Pacific with the most number of firms (16) represented in the league, followed by India with 13 entities. “The mainland firms together with five from Taiwan and three from Hong Kong account for almost half of the entries, giving Greater China the biggest regional representation on the list,” Forbes said. Taiwan moved up the ranking this year and is in the third place with five companies on the list, all of which are from the technology sector. Japan and Australia share the fourth place with four companies each on the list. The list included companies that have revenue and market capitalisation of at least $3 billion and a five year record of operating profitability and return on equity. The other criteria for being in the list include long term profitability, sales and earnings growth, stock price appreciation, projects earnings, quality of management and entrepreneurial skills. Source: World Business - Livemint.com | 24 Sep 2009 | 3:45 am
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